


welcome home

by HerDiamonds



Series: not coming home [2]
Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29828853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerDiamonds/pseuds/HerDiamonds
Summary: “What about Izzie?” The thought sent shivers down her body. The feeling of dread resumes as she thinks about it. Of how Alex would have to break one of their hearts. How she shouldn’t be doing this. They both shouldn’t be doing this. They should both be in Seattle, with their family there, at the hospital there. Not here. Not in nowheresville, Kansas.orpart two to not coming home
Relationships: Alex Karev/Jo Wilson
Series: not coming home [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2192838
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	welcome home

**Author's Note:**

> so a while back I got an ask on Tumblr asking about part one of this series wondering if this was a oneshot or is it part of a series and like it was supposed to be a oneshot but then I actually got inspired and wrote part two halfway and let it sit in my docs for weeks bc im a crappy human who never finishes things sometimes whoops and then ofc at 3am I got inspiration to finish this and here we are. enjoy!

She remembers the panic and anxiety settling in as soon as she sends off the text to Meredith, the one telling her she’s not coming home. It was a split second decision and she feels the regret seeping through her body. The sheer panic of realizing what she could be doing.

Meredith texts her back immediately but she doesn’t look at it, doesn’t reply, not right away anyway. She looks back up at Alex, and just like always, just like nothing ever happened between them, he reads her like an open book.

She remembers the way he looks at her, asking her in the gentlest voice of _what was wrong. What was on her mind._

“What about Izzie?” The thought sent shivers down her body. The feeling of dread resumes as she thinks about it. Of how Alex would have to break one of their hearts. How she shouldn’t be doing this. They _both_ shouldn’t be doing this. They should both be in Seattle, with their family there, at the hospital there. Not here. Not in nowheresville, Kansas.

But she is, they are. And she’s standing in front of him, only partially regretting her decision to stay without dwelling on any of the consequences.

“Izzie’s not an issue. She doesn’t love me like that, anymore. She helped me realize how I wasn’t necessarily in love with _her,_ I just loved the idea of a family with her as a whole. My heart belongs to you, Jo, and it always will. Izzie’s not an issue. She’ll wanna meet you though. Come home with me, meet my kids.”

She spends the rest of his shift in his office, being the Chief of Pediatrics had its perks, like more stable hours and the luxurious office he had, snooping around his desk like a kid. She admires the few photos he has set around. There are two of him and the kids together, and then a few individual ones, as well as a drawing each of the kids made framed on his desk.

She pulls open a drawer, continuing her bored snooping, and her heart clenches in her chest, seeing their wedding photo staring back at her still in its frame.

Even with how sudden of a decision she made, no matter how hard it was going to be, she knows it’s worth it. _He’s_ worth it.

She texts with Meredith a bit after that. Filling her in on what was going on and how she’s going to proceed yet still, when Alex walks back in to collect her. They walk hand in hand out to his car in the cool fresh air as the sun is starting to set along their drive.

It really hits her that he lives on a farm in the middle of nowhere when they pull off the main road and down a dirt path. She sees the barn out in the distance and a few stray chickens running into the coop to the right.

She sets a shaky hand down on her thigh, taking in a deep breath. “I’m really doing this? We’re doing this? This is what you want?” She rattles off, nervously with a shaking breath.

He reaches over, squeezing her hand, gently in his. “Jo, I love you. I don’t want to lose you again. I’m not giving up this time. If this is what you want, too, then yes. We’re doing this.”

“What if they hate me? Your kids, what if they hate me or I become an evil stepmother? What if Izzie hates me and thinks I’m stealing you away? What if you just lied to me and she really does love you and she tries to run me off or she thinks I’m bad news for her kids, I mean, I lived in my car, Alex. What if I don’t know how to act around kids? What if I’m not good with them? What if–”

“Jo, stop. They aren’t going to hate you. They’re _my_ kids, that means they’ll love you, I just know it. And you do know how to act around kids. You almost went into Peds for a while there, I’ve seen the way you act around patients and even Mer’s kids. You’re a natural. And Iz, she’s going to love you too. She hates me, that means she’ll love you. Trust me, please. Let’s just go in there and take it one step at a time.”

So that’s what they do.

She steps out of his car, calming her breathing and tucking her hand in his, putting one foot in front of the other, and taking one step at a time.

She hears the twins laughter and chatting as soon as she walks in and whatever was baking smells heavenly wafting through the house. The atmosphere around her immediately makes her feel at home. She hears the squeals of the kids growing louder as her eyes scan her surroundings, seeing the copious pictures lining the hallway as she lets Alex take her coat.

Then her heart begins to beat too fast in her chest as she lays eyes on the twins barreling down the hallway towards their father. She hears a woman’s voice from another room chiding them for running in the house but they ignore her, colliding straight into Alex as he lifts both of them up with ease, squeezing them tightly.

Then, there’s a blonde head poking out from an entryway, with warm brown eyes and a bright smile. “You must be Jo!” She greets cheerfully, wiping floured hands on the apron over her chest, reminding Jo much of Kepner in a way, yet so very different.

Jo nods. “Um, yes, I-I’m Jo.” She stammers out nervously. She’s never been so absolutely terrified in her life.

“Please, make yourself at home. Sorry about the mess. I’m just making more muffins and the twins _were_ playing in their room, but you know that’s all ignored once Alex gets home. Also, dinner’s in the oven. We made homemade pizza, I hope you’re okay with pepperoni? Alex said you’re not a vegan or anything.”

Jo just nods quietly, feeling so very out of place.

She turns her attention back towards him, watching him talk animatedly towards his kids, mesmerized at a story about one of their chickens, she picks up is named “Nugget” and what it did while ‘dad was at work’.

She’s torn, and doesn’t exactly know what to do, but Izzie catches her attention, and ushers her into the kitchen. “They’re going to talk his ear off for a while, you can make yourself comfortable in here with me if you’d like.” She offers.

Jo smiles, thanking her. “I’d offer to help but I’m less help than Alex is in a kitchen, and to be honest you really look like you have it under control.” She says, mesmerized at the way Izzie is measuring and scooping things into a metal mixing bowl, without even looking at a cookbook.

“No! You’re a guest, make yourself comfy. I do have everything under control, just relax. How was your flight earlier?”

And as effortlessly as Izzie bakes, Jo seems to slip into conversation with her, seemingly letting her nerves slip away.

For almost an hour, they chat. Jo tells Izzie a little about her life, how she studied under Meredith and how much the hospital has changed since Izzie had left and Jo had been there. It’s refreshing and calm and quiet until the blonde calls out for Alex, telling him to send the twins to wash their hands before dinner. She looks back at Jo and smiles. “Get ready for the chaos.” She warns as the tumble of feet clamber down the hallway and both Alex and the twins make their way into the dining room.

Jo watches as the twins come to a complete stop at the entryway of the dining room, locking eyes with her and it makes her heart race again but Izzie interrupts them, telling them to sit in their chairs and wait for their dad to grab them their food while she’s asking what everyone wants to drink.

Jo helps Izzie carry the drinks over to the table, grabbing juice boxes for the twins and holding a wine glass for herself while Izzie held two other glasses and the bottle right behind her.

The twins slide onto the bench seat next to each other and Izzie’s at the head of the table. Alex takes the seat next to her, and Jo follows, sliding into her chair next to him as he plates her a slice of the pizza. She thanks him, resting her hand on his thigh, and Alex lays his hand down on top of hers, bringing her comfort.

“Mommy, who’s that lady?” Eli whispers not so quietly over to Izzie, pizza stuffed in his mouth, and it takes both Alex and Izzie everything in them to not laugh, surprised it had taken this long for one of them to finally break and ask.

“This is Jo.” Izzie introduces, “Remember the picture in Daddy’s office of him and the pretty lady in the white dress?” She asks them and they both nod, following along. “Remember how we talked about how Daddy was married in Seattle where he lived before?”

“She’s the lady in the white dress. She’s Daddy’s princess!” Alexis exclaims, putting the pieces together.

“She’s Daddy’s wife, yes. She’s probably the princess in the stories he tells you at bedtime, too, yes.” Izzie explains.

Jo takes a sip of wine, attempting to hide the burning blush that rises to her cheeks as Izzie talks so highly of her. She still held so much anxiety and doubts about if she was doing the right thing, but every moment she continued to stay, the more right it felt.

“She is the Princess Josephine from our stories.” Alex clarifies. “And she loved me and you two so much she decided to come to Kansas for us.” He starts. “You know how Mommy and I talked with you guys about how every family is different? And now in your family, you have Mommy and me and Jo now.”

“How come she didn’t comed with you before? When you camed here to us?” Eli questions, furrowing his brows. It makes Izzie and Alex lock eyes briefly before looking at Jo.

Jo swallowed hard, knowing they were going to let her take over. She looked over at Alex briefly, seeing his nod of encouragement before she spoke, knowing he trusted her with whatever she would explain to them. “I uh, I was finishing up a big project at work and I needed to stay.”

“But how come you didn’t tell us your princess Jo was coming?” Alexis adds on.

“I wanted to surprise your Dad.” Jo blurts out. “He didn’t tell you because he didn’t know when I was coming.” She says, and it’s not a complete lie. Alex _didn’t_ know when she was coming. He didn’t know _if_ she would be coming at all, since she had just shown up.

“Oh.” Alexis says softly, accepting the answer before going back to finishing her pizza. “What project was you workin’ on?”

And with that, the rest of dinner runs a lot less tense, letting the five of them slip into casual conversation led by the twins, mainly interrogating Jo to get to know her. The remainder of dinner was filled with lots of giggles from the twins as the three adults answered their endless amount of questions, making them laugh about stories of everything.

By the time their plates were cleaned and the muffins Izzie had baked had been consumed, the two children were begging to show Jo their room and the playroom of course, insisting that she had to play their newest game they’d just created.

She looks at both of the parents, asking for permission before Izzie speaks up, ushering them off to go play and not get in her way while she and Alex cleared and cleaned the kitchen, silently thanking the twins for occupying Jo for a bit so she could talk with Alex.

She turns to him with a glare, slapping the back of his shoulder with a bit of force. Alex whines even though it wasn’t enough to actually hurt him.

“What was that for?” He questions, taking the cleared dishes from Izzie, rinsing them and loading them into the dishwasher.

“God, I swear to God Alex, you are so dense!” She chides. “Don’t ever mess things up with her again.” She huffs in aggravation, completely appalled at Alex’s actions. “You’ve told me your whole history and story, and I swear if I was Jo, I would’ve never had a second thought after I got a letter, never would’ve come after you like this.” She pauses, “Hell, I wouldn’t have even taken you back after you punched that intern.” She says, slightly under her breath and it makes Alex pause what he was doing to actually look at Izzie, seemingly full of regret. “Listen, I’m sorry for keeping the twins from you. I know I never should have done that. But you should’ve talked to your fricken wife. She loves you way more than you deserve, Alex. Don’t ever give up on that, because I know you love me, and our kids, but you are in love with her. You know that.”

Alex sighs but he knows Izzie’s right. He knows he messed things up. And he knows how much Jo really does love him if she flew all the way here to be with him even after he sent her divorce papers. She was a force to be reckoned with, and he didn’t want to let that go so easily, ever again.

“I know.” He says softly. “She–She’s something else. She’s amazing, Iz. She was my whole world and then you told me about the twins and I panicked. I took the easy way out because I didn’t know how to face her. I didn’t know if I could. I chickened out and left and she still fought for us, even after I did the worst possible thing I could ever do to her, she still stood by me and I know it’s going to take a lot for her to trust me again, but I don’t ever want to let her go again.” He says truthfully.

Izzie steps closer to him, giving him a tight hug. “Don’t ever mess this up again, because I’m serious, I’ll take her side in the divorce.” Alex laughs softly, nodding as he shuts the now loaded dishwasher and the two parents walk swiftly down the hall, following the high pitched squeals and screams and laughs coming from one of the rooms in front of them.

Alex pokes his head into the playroom, seeing Jo wrapped in a feather boa with a pair of too small sunglasses on her face, sitting in one of the kids play chairs at their miniature table as Eli pretends to write things down on an invisible pad of paper while Alexis is flinging plastic food on the other side of the playroom, seemingly looking for the items Jo was “ordering”.

“The service at this establishment is quite nice.” She pipes up, seeing Alex and Izzie both standing in the doorway. “Would you two like to join? I’m sure my lovely waiter can bring two more chairs to the table.” She says and Eli immediately runs across the room to drag two more chairs over to the tiny table next to Jo, urging his parents to sit down with her.

He takes their order and runs it to his sister, playing for a few more minutes before Izzie thanks the chef and her waiter for their great service and food that evening before she tells them both they need to get changed into their pajamas for bed and brush their teeth. She volunteers Alex to help them with brushing their teeth, putting her hand on Jo’s arm, stopping her from leaving the tiny playroom table before Jo could escape to the living room.

After the twins have finally made their way out of the room, sulking off to get dressed with Alex following in tow, Izzie busies herself with tidying up the playroom a bit before clearing her throat.

“Thank you.” She says, catching Jo off guard. Jo looks at her quizzically, since she hadn’t started helping the blonde pick up the playroom and it confused her, but Izzie continues. “For coming. And giving Alex another chance.”

Jo’s surprised at the admission and lets her eyes follow Izzie for a moment as the blonde decides to stop what she was doing and join Jo back at the tiny table.

“We both know Alex might not exactly deserve it, but you never gave up on him and that’s more than I can say.” She says looking down, “So…thank you. For not giving up on him. I know you both have a lot to work on still, and we all know he royally messed up, but he knows he messed up and he doesn’t want to do that again.”

Jo looks down, picking at her thumb for a moment, not knowing what to say. “I still don’t know if I’m doing the right thing. He left me, with a letter and divorce papers. I don’t even know what I was thinking coming here. I didn’t have a plan. I don’t know if I really am going to stay. What if he realizes he doesn’t actually love me, especially with you here, and the kids, a perfect family already. I’m just coming in here like a home wrecker.”

“Jo, no.” Izzie stops her. “Alex, I’d like to think I knew Alex pretty well, once. And I’ve seen him love people before. He doesn’t look at me the way he looks at you, at the kids. You three are equal in his eyes. I know Alex loves me, and I know some part of him always will. I’m the mother of his children. But that’s all I’ll ever be to him. We weren’t meant to be for each other. You’re it for him, Jo. The way he looks at you, it’s how my ex-fiancé used to look at me. It’s howDerek used to look at Meredith, and how a husband should look at his wife. He only has eyes for you. I know that you’re worried and everything is so confusing and up in the air but trust yourself. You’ve loved him this far, keep going.” She encourages.

Jo still is uneasy and unsure. She still feels like everything was wrong and she’s just waiting for the other shoe to drop. “I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop, but now at this point I don’t know what that is. I was anticipating Alex not fighting for me, and pushing me away, and then you hating me, or the twins, and now I don’t know what’s going to happen because what if I mess this up? There are children involved now. I don’t know if I can be someone they should look up to. I’m sure Alex’s told you some of my history. I don’t think I’m someone you want your kids to be around.” She says ashamed.

“Any woman who would follow her husband out to the middle of nowhere to fight for him even with him having kids with his ex-wife who left him and failed to tell him she had his children, is someone I would definitely want my kids to look up to. That love? That love is stronger than anything and I want my kids to be surrounded by it. You’re more than I ever could be for Alex. You’ll be a great stepmom to our children, I know you will. So thank you, Jo.” Izzie ends, standing up and offering Jo a hand to help her out of the insanely tiny chair. Jo takes the offering and lets Izzie help pull her up and into a hug.

She relishes in it for a moment, breathing in and the breathing out. Taking just a moment for herself before she pulls back and looks at Izzie. “Thank you, for saying all of that. It really means a lot. I’m really glad that you don’t hate me and that we can work together going forward with this because I don’t think I could’ve done this alone, and I don’t know what I would’ve done if I had to return to Seattle without Alex.”

Izzie gives Jo’s hands a light squeeze as she smiles at her. “Now you don’t have to. And any time you need to bitch about how Alex is being all “evil spawn-ish” again, I am always here to listen and give him a shove in the right direction for you. For the record, I’m really happy that you’re here too and apart of our family for good.”

Jo laughs, wiping a stray tear that was welling in her eyelid. “You’re stuck with me now.” She jokes, feeling much lighter and less nervous than she had been all day. Izzie locks arms with her, dragging her out of the playroom and down the hall towards the twins room to check on the two children and their childish father.

“Well, then let me be the first to say ‘welcome home’.”

Jo wasn’t sure what was in store for them in the future, but watching Alex tuck his children into their beds before bidding Izzie goodnight and dragging Jo into his room to kiss her and hold her while they slept just like he always did. She knew she’d made the right choice in staying. She settles into his grasp and lets the feeling of his strong arms wrap around her body, holding onto her for dear life, if he let go, she’d slip away. She relishes in the comfort of his arms again letting the feeling lull her into a peaceful sleep once again. Tomorrow was a new day. And they’d tackle the rest of their problems then. For now, she slept soundly in the comfort of her husband’s arms once again, knowing his children had accepted her into their lives and his ex, who she once held so much worry about, she now began building a budding friendship with. Finally, she felt at home once again.

**Author's Note:**

> come talk jolex with me @cicinicole-14 on Tumblr and if u have fic requests I try to fill them!!


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